A British man could face the death penalty on drug trafficking charges in Bali after he and four others were arrested over the weekend.

The 45-year-old man, reportedly a designer from England, named only as PMH, was arrested after receiving a package containing cannabis oil from an address in Thailand.

The man appeared at a Bali police station yesterday (Thursday 13th Dec) alongside four other foreign men accused of smuggling drugs.

The other men are from China, Germany, Malaysia and Peru.

Indonesia has strict drug laws, with those being found guilty of drug charges being routinely executed.

The local media reported that PMH was arrested after a package addressed to him from Thailand was intercepted at a post office in Renon, Bali, on 30th November.

Local media reported that Indonesian Police claim an X-ray revealed that the package contained two bottles with a yellowish, thick liquid.

According to Balinese police, authorities tested the liquid cannabis, which weighed over 30g total, confirming it to be cannabis.

The Brit (second from right) and the other men donned balaclavas during one stage of the press conference

All five men were paraded by local police for a press conference, with the men donning orange jumpsuits and balaclavas as they were presented to the media.

“Our staff are assisting a British man following his arrest in Bali, and are in contact with his family, lawyer and the Indonesian authorities.”
– British Foreign Office

Police said 44-year-old Peruvian national Jorge Rafael Albornoz Gammara was arrested after authorities found him hiding 4.08 kilograms of cocaine inside the interior of his luggage after arriving at Ngurah Rai international airport from Dubai last week.

Frank Zeidler, 56, of Germany, is accused of smuggling 2.1 kilograms of hashish inside his luggage on a flight from Bangkok.

Bali Police present the seized narcotics in front of the arrested men

Chinese national Cui Bao Lin, 29, was arrested at the airport on Saturday with more than 200 ecstasy pills and more than 160 grams of ketamine found in his bag, police said.

Malaysian Hamdi Izham Hakimi was arrested on the same day for allegedly smuggling nearly 15 grams of cannabis and 11 ecstasy pills.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said:

“Our staff are assisting a British man following his arrest in Bali, and are in contact with his family, lawyer and the Indonesian authorities.”